Mike McMahon - The Record, NY State D.O.T. closed the Troy Waterford 126th Street Bridge due to the finding of a crack . Friday November 22. 2013.

albany >> Deficient, congested roads are costing New York motorists more than $20 billion annually, averaging out to roughly $2,300 per driver in some areas.

According to a report released Wednesday by TRIP, a Washington, D.C.-based national transportation organization, 45 percent of major roads in the Empire State are in either poor or mediocre condition while 28 percent of state-maintained bridges are in need of replacement, reconstruction of rehabilitation.

Albany drivers lose $1,622 each year as a result of driving on roads that are congested, deteriorated or lack some desirable safety features, according to report. That number breaks down to $479 annually due to vehicle operating costs, $682 annually due to congestion and $461 due to safety.

A total of 51 percent of major roads in the Albany urban area are in either poor or mediocre condition, costing the average driver an additional $479 each year in vehicle operating costs, including accelerated vehicle depreciation, additional repair costs, increased fuel consumption and tire wear. Traffic congestion in the area, according to the report, causes 31 annual hours of delay for the average driver.

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As part of the evaluation, TRIP notes that increased investment in improvements to transportation at the local, state and federal levels could relieve traffic congestion, improve road and bridge conditions and support economic growth in the area.

That sentiment is something Mark Eagan, CCE president and CEO of the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, shares.

“Funding for our area’s roads and bridges will provide a significant boost to our Capital Region economy and create hundreds of new jobs. An updated transportation infrastructure will ensure safer roadways and allow for the expedited delivery of goods and services which will improve our overall economy,” Eagan said.

A total of 28 percent of New York’s state maintained bridges are currently in need of replacement, reconstruction or rehabilitation. Thirty-two percent of state-maintained bridges in the Albany area are in need of replacement, reconstruction or rehabilitation.

Traffic crashes in New York claimed the lives of 5,924 people between 2008 and 2012. New York’s traffic fatality rate of 0.91 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel is lower than the national average of 1.13. The traffic fatality rate on New York’s non-Interstate rural roads was 1.79 traffic fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel, more than two-and-a-half times higher than the 0.68 traffic fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel on all other roads and highways in the state.

“Six thousand lives lost between 2008 and 2012. Six thousand good reasons to just fill in the potholes,” said Rebecca Kurdziolek of Albany.